I'm always talking about how I'd love to go back to a simpler time.... A time before cell phones and the world wide web. A time where we talked to our friends on the phone instead of sending a text or tweeting them. A time where our kids knew nothing of this "Plugged In" generation that exists today. A time where you played outside because that was the BEST form of entertainment there was.
I'm a HUGE fan of a blog called Frugally Sustainable..... it's amazing and find myself loving just about every post I read! A recent post though I had to share.... it was particularly fantastic....
It includes some ways on.....
How to return to a simple time and place
I'll have my own say now.... using the same 8 ideals
#1 Declutter - I will have you know operation declutter is in full swing at our house.... I'm so ready to purge! Yep I said it Jeromy and it's in writing.... I guess I'm tired of looking for what I need only to find it stored in the bottom bin in a stack of bins full of items we never use. Mama's on a mission.... better keep your room clean! :)
#2 - Spending Less... Always hard... there's always something you think your family needs.... at any particular time. So skimping in another area may be where you spend less... such as eating out, just because you had to run to Port Townsend doesn't mean you HAVE to stop by Tacos to Go... ughhh but.... or that late night ice cream craving that sends you 10 miles down the road to buy ice cream that's not on sale... (this has never happened...really it hasn't... you believe me right?)
#3 - Save More - well totally goes along with #2... if you're spending less you outta be saving more right? we already live on a tight budget... but there's always room for improvement...
#4 - Unplug - Yes... have been... a tough one... I wont lie! I've totally found that the days I choose to never fire up the computer I'm soooo incredibly productive and have tons more energy... so not only is the computer costing us energy it's zappin mine too... grrrr! I'm a knowledge junky.... so the more knowledge I consume from research the better informed I feel I am... however these days I feel more like the dog in the movie Up... "Squirrel!!" as I'm über distracted... one article leads to another and then there's something else I wanna learn about which turns into 5 other pages and in the end I've learned very little as I've jumped all over the place.... Pinterest is worst of all.... I've really just eliminated that one.... go on there to find a fun project to do with my 4 year old the next day... 2 hours later hubbys in bed already and I'm sooooo overwhelmed by everything I've seen that I can never pick something to do. Still a work in progress... But I'd like to talk it over with the hubby about having unplugged weekends or maybe just Sundays... Sounds doable for sure...
#5 Getting Outdoors - My favorite place to be is outside... sometimes this isn't the easiest when you live in the GREAT Pacific Northwest.... I know a little rain never hurt... but we're talkin ALOT of rain! I wish that my 4 year old had been given the love of the outdoors like my husband and I. He would much rather play indoors.... I'm still workin on him though, hopefully we'll have that common love soon! :) We're pretty good about finding things that don't cost money and involve stayin pretty close to home... so maybe this one's in the bag...
#6 Keep it small and local - Keepin it local, well I have the best of intentions.... it really is SOOO very silly of us to think that spending locally is expensive when in reality we're using gas to go buy the cheaper stuff.... LAME I know... So lets work on this one tooo... I will talk it over with the hubby... but I'd like to pledge to not by anything out of our local area for one month... I know I'd at least feel better about where our moneys going.
#7 - Live in Community - I want soooooo badly to be a part of the farm community... know the people I'm buying food from and get advice for my own growing... We will defiantly be needing to get more involved in local events.... instead of occasionally attending the local farmers market... we need to be regulars! We are very blessed with the small group of friends we have! We know we can count on them and they can count on us, there's always room for building these relationships and keeping them strong.... thinking a regular get together is totally necessary, maybe a once a month on a particular day.... Hear that friends... you'll be hearing from me soon! :)
#8 Identify true security - Wow believing I am good enough in what ever I do.... something I've been working on too. Feeling secure in ones self is the key to well just about everything we do in life. Working on my insecurities is a constant area of growth. Whether it's going forward or backward... that's the question. Being a mom has taken and given me confidence.... I feel as my children grow and I'm able to see my hard work paying off I do feel proud and more secure in myself.... but there is always always room for improvement here.
Well there you have it.... obviously I (and we) need to work on a lot of stuff.... but we're moving in the right direction...
I'd like to hear from you too.... what are some things you do or plan to do... in order to return to a more simple time and place? ~ Leave your comment below...
If this sorta thing interests you I encourage you to follow Andreas Blog at...www.frugallysustainable.com
This post resonates with me in so many ways. I don't think I can count how many times I've told Josh I'd rather be living in the 50's. (but maybe with some modern conveniences! lol)
ReplyDelete#1- I am in a constant state of purging. All of our married life, there has been a "Goodwill" bag. Now since having kids, a huge one for me has been not buying toys just to have them. They get toys on Christmas and birthdays, and even then I'm very intentional about what I do buy. (How is it made? Will it last for multiple kids? Will it get hours of play? etc....) And I regularly go through and weed out the broken things, toys that don't get played with, or are annoying (ha!) I think it helps Noah to keep his room picked up(without too much help).
#2- This one is hard. Our budget is so tight that I often feel we are going without so much already that a little splurge here and there is good for us! Which is probably true. I do like my coffees.... really the only regular fun "treat" (maybe 2x a week)I allow myself. But I don't probably need it.... agh. See? hard!
I think we do pretty well in this area, involving our home stuff, though. We try everything we can to make it first (It helps to have a handy hubby!!)before going and buying it. Or Craigslist! We LOVE Craigslist! If I have to buy, I know how to score insane online deals usually.... But, really when it comes down to it, I find myself repeating the phrase-
"Use it up, go without, make do, or do without" pretty often. Or another good one, the 24hour wait rule. If you think you "need" something, wait 24hours, (even another day or two) and see if you still feel the same way. That helps my perspective sometimes, and helps to cut down the impulse buying. (And YES, I've totally driven to the store just for that Breyer's Mint Chip at 10pm... wait, I mean, I've never!)
#4 The unplugging is a constant battle.... It does help that I've eliminated Facebook. Haven't seen that blue page since the beginning of July. And I don't miss it! (I have found that some things are shared only that way by friends though, and they think I've seen it. I'm a little more out of the loop, which is a bummer sometimes, but worth it for my sanity! And Josh does tell me if someone announces a pregnancy or something, and I've missed it... haha)
#5- We would love to be outside MUCH mure, but often find ourselves with little to no downtime in which to get out there.... our backyard is a great place for fresh air, if nothing else though, and Noah spends just about every waking moment out there, which means I'm usually out there too! (It helps that the two men in my life think they're Bear Grylls.) Josh and I have been talking about a mini back-packing trip, just the two of us... we'll see!
I feel like I'm writing a novel! haha So I'll just say I agree with you completely on 6 and 7. (I was just thinking this weekend, how the Farmer's Markets intimidate me, and I want to get rid of that feeling. Ie: go more often!)
#8- Daily struggle! It's a constant reminder that my worth is NOT identified by what I do, or who around me thinks I'm awesome. (though it doesn't hurt to be awesome!) My Heavenly Father created me, in his image, the way that I am. He alone determines my worth and He thinks I'm beautiful. I can always be improving myself, but I have to check the standards to which I'm doing it.(Mainly being not to please other people.) One of my favorite books of all time on this topic is called "So Long Insecurity"- by Beth Moore. I love it so much, I've read it twice! lol I highly recommend it!
Sorry for the novel.
Great post, Kristi!